The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.

In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video.

Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.